2014 WSOP APAC Day 4: Luke Brabin Wins First Gold Bracelet; Benson Leads Event #3 PLO
The fourth day on the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific calendar was a big one. It was the first day that three events were held at the same time, but more importantly it was the day the first gold bracelet of the festival was awarded.
The event that came to a conclusion was the first one of the series, the AU$1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator. Other action included Day 2 of the AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold'em event that saw the field whittled down to the final 10 players, and then Day 1 of the AU$1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha. Needless to say, it was quite an exciting day, so let's get down to it.
AU$1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator
Luke Brabin came into the final day of play with the chip lead, and he successfully rode that big stack all the way to the winner's circle, capturing his first gold bracelet and the AU$131,365 top prize.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (AU$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Brabin | $131,365 |
| 2 | Didier Guerin | $81,220 |
| 3 | Daniel Murphy | $59,334 |
| 4 | Stephen Lindeblad | $43,986 |
| 5 | Ryan Hong | $33,080 |
| 6 | Zane Ly | $25,234 |
| 7 | Brian McAllister | $19,521 |
| 8 | Piyush Gupta | $15,318 |
| 9 | David Profaca | $12,189 |
At the start of the day, just nine players stood between Brabin and the title. After Kahle Burns fell in 10th place, David Profaca was the next to go in ninth. Then, Brabin busted Piyush Gupta in eighth place before Didier Guerin took care of Brian McAllister in seventh. Those first four eliminations only took 20 hands of play, but things slowed after that.
Zane Ly didn't bust in sixth place until the 49th hand of the day, which was a long time at this final table, and then Ryan Hong exited 10 hands later. Four-handed play lasted for a little while, but then Stephen Lindeblad bounced to the payout desk in fourth place, as Brabin scored his second elimination of the day. In third fell Daniel Murphy, and he too was busted by Brabin, but only after Brabin scooped the largest pot of the tournament from Murphy.
That big pot took place on the 111th hand of the day, with Brabin and Murphy getting the money in on the 10♣7♦6♦10♠ board. Both had trip tens, but it was Brabin's 10♥9♥ that out-kicked the 10♦2♦ for Murphy. Murphy did have a flush draw, but the A♥ on the river gave him no help and the nearly 1.5 million-chip pot was sent Brabin's way.
A couple hands later, Brabin finished off Murphy to set up a one-sided heads-up affair with Guerin.
Guerin began heads-up play with 216,000 to Brabin's massive 1.617 million. Guerin tried to fight and actually took most of the first few pots, but Brabin was just too much in the end. On the final hand, Guerin shoved the 9♦8♦ and lost out to Brabin's K♠Q♣.
AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 of the AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold'em event ended with 10 players still eyeing their shot at capturing the second gold bracelet of the series.
Thirty-one players began the day with just a few eliminations needed until 24 players were guaranteed a AU$3,969 payday. Andrew Hinrichsen, Jeff Gross, and Kitty Kuo all found themselves on the rail before Steven Zhou moved all in holding the J♠J♥ and was called by Aik-Chuan Nee and his A♦6♦. Unfortunately for Zhou, the board ran out A♥9♣Q♦2♣K♦ to ensure Zhou earned the title of "bubble boy."
From there, Russell Thomas (24th), Najeem Ajez (21st), Tien Pham (14th), Tim O'Shea (13th), and Dan Heimiller (11th) all fell short of reaching the unofficial final table of 10 before the health concern of Nee would halt play for the evening with the final bunch sitting as follows:
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peco Stojanovski | 102,500 |
| 2 | Michael O'Grady | 44,500 |
| 3 | Martin Kozlov | 155,000 |
| 4 | Sam Ruha | 103,000 |
| 5 | Samuel Ngai | 153,000 |
| 6 | Luke Spano | 106,000 |
| 7 | Junzhong Loo | 205,500 |
| 8 | Feng Zhou | 241,500 |
| 9 | Fred Chaptini | 18,000 |
| 10 | Aik-Chuan Nee | 149,500 |
Play will resume Monday at 12:10 p.m. local time.
AU$1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha
On Sunday, the 2014 WSOP APAC continued with Day 1 action from Event #3 $1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). The tournament attracted 123 runners – down 49 from the year before – which created a prize pool of $184,500 that is to be awarded to the top 16 finishers with the winner taking home $51,660.
The man best positioned to make a run at the five-figure payday, as well as the championship gold bracelet, is Australian Poker Hall of Famer and WSOP bracelet winner, who lead the advancing 22 players with 71,200. However, several others are looking to stand in his way including Jeff Lisandro (60,400), Jason Gray (34,500), Ismael Bojang (27,000), Oliver Gill (26,300), Ami Barer (25,600), and Mike Watson (6,900).
Top 10 Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Benson | 71,200 |
| 2 | Jeff Lisandro | 60,400 |
| 3 | Paul Mac | 38,600 |
| 4 | Zane Ly | 37,200 |
| 5 | Jason Gray | 34,500 |
| 6 | Ismael Bojang | 27,000 |
| 7 | Stephen Woodhead | 26,800 |
| 8 | Oliver Gill | 26,300 |
| 9 | Vadim Pinsky | 25,900 |
| 10 | Ami Barer | 25,600 |
PLO is a volatile game, so it was no surprise to see players hit the rail early. Among the first to go was Mike Leah, who said he called a raise holding the A♠10♥9♥3♠ and then called a bet on the A♥Q♥10x flop. Leah, who had two pair with a flush draw, called another bet on the turn, and then put out a big bet after his opponent checked the river, which was a heart. His opponent woke up with a check-raise, and Leah called off his last few hundred with his flush. Unfortunately for him, it was no good as his opponent held the nut flush with K♥8♥XxXx.
Others who fell on Day 1 included Jonathan Duhamel, Mohsin Charania, Jeff Madsen, Jonathan Dimmig, Phil Hellmuth, Ryan Riess, Billy “The Croc” Argyros, Antonio Esfandiari, and Australia’s very own Joe Hachem, who was playing in his first event of the 2014 WSOP APAC.
As for Benson, he got many of his chips in the last level of the night. On a flop of J♠4♠6♣, two players checked before Benson bet out 6,000 from the hijack. Dylan Wilkerson then went into the tank for a minute from the cut off before potting to 24,800. The other two players got out of the way before Benson moved all in for a total of 30,300 and was called.
Benson: A♣A♠6♠7♣
Wilkerson: Q♠2♠4♣Q♣
Benson had the better over pair as well as the nut flush draw leaving Wilkerson with very few outs. The J♥ on the turn and K♦ on the river were no help, and after a count of all the chips it was determined that Wilkerson had 100 less then Benson and was therefore eliminated.
The remaining 22 players will return to action at 12:30 p.m. local time on Monday, and the plan is to play down to the final table of nine. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there every step of the way to bring you all the action and eliminations from the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.
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